Prevention, early intervention, evidence and a commitment to the child at the centre of all policy underpin bold reforms detailed in Australia's first ever national plan for child and youth wellbeing, known as The Nest action agenda, which was launched at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday 18 November 2013.
The Nest action agenda facilitated by ARACY and its members, in collaboration with Bupa Health Foundation (BHF) – is the culmination of almost three years work by leading thinkers, service providers and advocates who were motivated by evidence showing our children and youth are lagging behind across key international health and wellbeing indicators.
The action agenda draws on our consultation with more than 4,000 Australian young people and families, outcomes from The Nest Summit (Phase 1) in November 2012, evidence from the ARACY Report Card: The wellbeing of young Australians (2013) and a review of effective interventions.
What is the The Nest action agenda?
The Nest action agenda details key evidence-based, preventive-focused priorities to improve child and youth wellbeing across Australia, and includes six operational principles (page 7) and six priority directions (page 9) to mobilise collective efforts to achieve this.
How is The Nest being used?
The Nest is already being used by many organisations and individuals. Some ways it is being implemented are:
- The Nest is being used by ARACY to guide joint advocacy
- The Nest is framing collective action by peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander agencies
- The Nest is being used to guide a plan for child and youth health and wellbeing research
- The ARACY report card measures are being used to define common outcomes
- The Nest is being used in a number of communities as the overarching guide to collective action at the 'grass roots' level
- The evidence in The Nest is being used to develop the What Works for Kids evidence database
- The Nest is being embedded in teaching, research and scholarship – for example, inclusion in university curricula for health practitioners.
The Nest is initiated and facilitated by ARACY, and principal partner, Bupa Health Foundation.
Phone ARACY on 02 6248 2400 or email us.